Long-Vacant Industrial Site to Become Home to Hundreds of Jobs

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With Metro Vancouver's industrial real estate market the strongest in North America, BC's Deputy Premier Rich Coleman and Delta Mayor Lois E. Jackson joined Beedie Development Group (Beedie) today to officially break ground on Delta Link Business Park, one of Western Canada's largest private industrial projects currently under development.

"Without question, the current industrial market is the strongest Beedie has experienced in its 63-year history," said Ryan Beedie, the company's president. "Delta Link Business Park is already 70 per cent sold or preleased, which is an unprecedented level of commitment. We are excited to be creating hundreds of job spaces on a site that has been largely vacant for 20 years."

Commercial real estate brokerage CBRE says Metro Vancouver's industrial vacancy is just 2.2 per cent, while space completing this year is already 55 per cent preleased or sold. In 2015/2016, demand for industrial space was three times greater than total new space added to the market.

"Surrey and Delta have attracted 64 per cent of the industrial demand in the region," said Jason Kiselbach, an associate vice president with CBRE. "The South Fraser Perimeter Road has been a game changer."

Completed in 2013 and approximately 40 kilometres long, the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) is a four-lane expressway along the south side of the Fraser River from Delta to Langley. It is part of Highway 17 and connects the Port of Vancouver's key container facilities with major highway systems, including the Trans-Canada, Highway 99, and Interstate 5 in the US.

"The BC government, in partnership with the Canadian government, invested in the construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road as part of BC's Gateway Program," said Deputy Premier Rich Coleman. "The SFPR demonstrates the importance of investment in roads and bridges, which improve the movement of people, goods and services across the region and draw tenants to key locations like Delta."

Beedie's Delta Link Business Park is located along the Fraser River in the Tilbury area of Delta, BC. It was home to a chemical facility from the 1960s to the early 1990s. Environmental remediation on portions of the site began more than 20 years ago, and by 2013, the brownfield site was fully remediated to Ministry of Environment standards for redevelopment.

In 2015, Beedie purchased the site and rezoned it from chemical-plant use to industrial use, allocating 84 acres for development, 15 acres for parkland, and 4.4 acres for new municipal roads and public space.

Beedie is currently building one million square feet distributed across seven buildings, all of which are in various stages of development. According to real estate consulting firm Site Economics, a 100,000-square-foot industrial building creates anywhere from 100 to 200 permanent job spaces.

"We welcome the economic boost," said Delta Mayor Lois E. Jackson. "Delta is the hub of transportation networks, making it perfectly situated for companies that need to be centrally located in Metro Vancouver. You can locate in Tilbury or Annacis Island - two of the largest industrial parks in Canada - and be minutes from Deltaport, Port Kells, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster, Surrey Fraser Docks, and the US border."

In recognition of Beedie's ongoing contribution to the community, the Corporation of Delta will name a new road at Delta Link Business Park, Beedie Way.

"As a leader in industrial development, Beedie is proud to draw long-term investment to our province," said Ryan Beedie. "A strong economy created by the provincial government's competitive tax structure, balanced budgets and investment in transportation has allowed us to do that, and Delta Link Business Park will build on that foundation in the coming years."

Delta Link Business Park's first tenants are expected to move in this year. Leon's Furniture will move into a 434,000-square-foot facility, while Swiss Water Decaffeinated Co. will headquarter at Delta Link Business Park. North Delta Seafoods is expanding its processing facility from its current 9,000-square-foot facility to 51,900 square feet at Delta Link Business Park.

All seven buildings will be complete by early next year with more buildings planned.

Beedie Development Group

Founded in 1954 by Keith Beedie, Beedie Development Group is a developer, builder, and manager of industrial buildings in British Columbia and Alberta. The company is the largest landlord of industrial space in BC, with more than nine million square feet in its portfolio. Beedie is also active in developing significant, large-scale residential and mixed-use projects.

For two consecutive years, Beedie has been named Best Workplaces in Canada by Great Places to Work, a global authority on workplace culture. Beedie also has an enduring commitment to the community and has donated $35 million over the last 10 years to various charities.

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